Yemen, Tonga & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (18 January 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Yemen, Tonga & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (18 January 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Personnel Appointees - Yemen - Tonga - Security Council - Afghanistan - Syria - Mali - UNRWA - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Venezuela - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Ecuador - Children and Armed Conflict PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS I have not one, but two, senior personnel announcements for you. Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Elizabeth Spehar of Canada as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, otherwise known as DPPA. Ms. Spehar succeeds Oscar Fernandez-Taranco of Argentina to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his dedication and contribution. With 35 years of experience in international and political affairs, Ms. Spehar has worked at headquarters and in the field, leading political, development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention initiatives. Most recently, since 2016, she was, as you well know, the Head of the Mission in Cyprus, UNFICYP. And the Secretary-General is also appointing Bruno Lemarquis of France as his new Deputy Special Representative in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Lemarquis succeeds David McLachlan-Karr of Australia to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service and steadfast commitment to the United Nations. Having served since 2020 as Deputy Special Representative of the UN’s Integrated Office in Haiti and as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Mr. Lemarquis brings to this position extensive managerial and leadership experience in complex multidimensional settings, development, humanitarian affairs and peacebuilding and we congratulate both of our friends and colleagues for these new jobs. YEMEN I was asked a bit earlier about the situation in Yemen and I can tell you that the Secretary-General expresses his concern and deplores the recent Saudi-led Coalition’s airstrikes in Sana’a that resulted in numerous civilian casualties. He reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, adhering to the principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution. The Secretary-General again calls upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint and prevent further escalation and intensification of the conflict in Yemen. He reiterates his calls on the parties to engage constructively and without precondition with Special Envoy Hans Grundberg in his mediation efforts to advance the political process to reach a comprehensive negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Yemen. TONGA Our humanitarian colleagues report that, according to the Government, three fatalities have been confirmed, with several people injured. Needs assessments by the Tongan authorities are ongoing and should provide a better estimate of what is required of the international community. We are on standby with teams and emergency supplies, and stocks in Tonga are being readied for distribution once humanitarian needs are identified. Our staff there are working to assist coordination and response efforts in-country. And as a reminder at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, the acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Jonathan Veitch, will brief you remotely and give you more details on the situation on the ground. He will speak to you from Suva in Fiji where he is based, and where it will be about 7:30 in the morning when he speaks to you. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=18%20January%202022


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